Fixed timers have a weakness: they end on schedule even when the work is going well. Flowtime turns this around. You focus for as long as your focus holds, then take a break that grows with the time you worked. The technique was described by Dionatan Moura, a software engineer and productivity writer, in 2015.
How Flowtime works
- Pick one task and write down the time you start.
- Work until your focus fades. Not until a timer rings: until you notice yourself drifting, or reaching for distractions.
- Write down the time you stop, and how long you worked.
- Take a break that matches. Longer work earns a longer break. A common rule of thumb is about five minutes per 25 minutes worked.
- Repeat.
What Flowtime gets right
- It respects flow. When the work is going well, nothing interrupts it.
- Breaks are earned, not scheduled. A long stretch earns real recovery, a short one a short pause.
- It teaches you your own rhythm. After a week of notes, you know how long you can really focus on different kinds of work.
Where it struggles
- Starting is harder. A fixed 25 minutes makes starting easy; “as long as it lasts” does not.
- You have to notice your own fade, which is exactly what is hard when you are tired.
- The evidence is not decisive. In a 2025 experiment, students using Flowtime were no more productive than those with fixed 25-minute blocks or self-chosen breaks, and their motivation declined faster than with self-chosen breaks.
A middle way: fixed blocks with a flow extension
You can keep the easy start of a fixed rhythm and borrow Flowtime’s best idea:
- Start with a fixed block, 25 or 50 minutes.
- When the block ends and you are in flow, extend it by a few minutes instead of breaking.
- Let the break grow with the extension, so the extra focus is paid back with extra rest.
That keeps the structure of a timer, the respect for flow, and breaks that stay proportional. Choosing a focus rhythm compares this with the other options.
Flowtime ideas in Tomette
Tomette’s +5m replaces the coming break with five more minutes of focus. The next break then scales with the focus you worked: 25 minutes plus 5 earns a 6-minute break instead of 5. The extension does not count as an extra session, so your count stays honest.